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'This is the most important film I have ever directed'
Aparna Sen hopes for the best for her latest Mr & Mrs Iyer
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Subhash K Jha
The last week of 2002 would have brought moviegoers a bouquet of films like Suneel Darshan's Talaash, Madhur Bhandarkar's Satta and Deepa Mehta’s English film Bollywood/ Hollywood.
Now, they have been pushed to 2003, following the belief that 2002 is a 'jinxed' year for Bollywood.
With Talaash and Bollywood/ Hollywood pushed into the first week of January, the field is clear for Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer.
The socially relevant film comes in the wake of a series of well-received English films in 2002. Three dubutant directors --- Rahul Bose, Somnath Sen and Ram Madhvani --- made a sizeable impact with their films, Everybody Says I'm Fine, Leela and Let’s Talk respectively.
Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer addresses communal stress. Says Sen, "I thought of doing a film about a journey taken by an unlikely couple through a communal situation long before the crisis in Gujarat. So, in a way, my film preempts the events in the country."
From Yash Chopra's Dharamputra to M S Sathyu's Garam Hawa to Mani Ratnam's Bombay, there have been several significant Hindi films about the Hindu-Muslim divide and how communal clash brings out the human side in both the communities. Sen's film acquires a special flavour and relevance because of the recent happenings in Gujarat.
The film's producer Rupali Mehta, a new entrant to filmmaking, thinks Mr & Mrs Iyer has a strong chance of achieving a crossover status at the box-office. "At the previews held so far, people commented on the love story rather than the communal aspect of the narrative. It is almost as though the audience gets the message through the human relationship. That’s the way we intended the film to be."
The year 2002 has been short on films that convey a socio-political resonance. Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer attempts to fill that vacuum. Leading man, Rahul Bose feels the importance of Mr & Mrs Iyer lies in its language as much as content. "My role of Raja Sen, a Muslim photographer shepherding an orthodox Hindu wife and mother through a riot- torn area, has got me the maximum feedback, even more than my career-making role of the bored bureaucrat in Dev Benegal’s English, August.
"I feel the audience will connect instinctively with the film's theme of empathy during times of communal stress. But, to me, the most important aspect of the film is that it takes the movement of Indian films in English a few steps ahead. I think it is very important for us to look at English language films in this country as an important means of communication."
Just how the audience reacts to Aparna Sen's treatise on love and communal harmony will be known on December 27, when the film releases. Sen says, "This is the most important film I have ever directed."